Joe Smoker, owner of Lancaster Burger Company, always knew he wanted to run his own business. Following college, Joe landed himself a corporate job, but quickly realized something was missing. The love of creating and preparing food never stopped calling his name and he eventually left his desk job to pursue his dream of owning and running a food truck specializing in burgers. "I wanted to bring great food to the streets of Lancaster," he says. "Thankfully, the city has been very receptive and it's really taken off. Year three is looking great!"
As Lancaster Burger Company started to take off, Joe realized that he needed a helping hand to grow the business. He contacted SCORE Lancaster-Lebanon and within a week, Larry Keating—Score Volunteer Mentor—reached out set up Joe's first one-on-one mentoring session. "So far, the relationship has been great," Joe says. "It's been great to bounce ideas off of Larry and to get his perspective regarding growth and management for the business."
Since teaming up, Larry and Joe have worked together to create a comprehensive plan for marketing, basic costs, and maintenance on the food truck. As for the future, Joe and Larry are in the early stages of creating a plan for either a restaurant or second truck. "Right now, I'm happy with where we are," Joe says. "We're going full blast on one truck—and down the road, we'll see if a second is in our future."
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